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Midland Kingdoms
The Midland Kingdoms are divided into five regions: Gaelvern, Muer, Realva, Bahnia, and Lochlan. The four large outlying territories are each ruled by an independent petty king who swears allegiance to the High King. The High King themself rules from the small, central province of Lochlan. The petty kings are free to govern their realms as they see fit, paying a small tax to Lochlan and providing knights and soldiers to maintain the High King's army and keep the peace throughout the kingdoms. Outstanding disputes between the realms are only brought to the court in Lochlan if no other resolution can be reached between the petty kings. In return for the petty kings' fealty, the High King is sworn to marshal the Midland armies in defense of any one realm and to provide economic aid in times of crisis or famine. The politics of High Kingship strike a delicate balance between appeasing the four petty kings and reminding them of the central authority's power. All of Midland's annointed knights are required to spend at least part of their training in Lochlan and each knight is personally annointed by the High King. The brunt of the Midland Kingdoms' intellectual and administrative institutions are focused in Lochlan, forcing the petty kings to rely on the central authority to anchor the economies of their personal realms. The claim to the title of High King has passed between several families over the centuries of Midland's existence. All High Kings claim at least partial descent from Labraid, the legendary warlord who first united the kingdoms. Any succession coups within Lochlan are by necessity short, contained affairs so as to not risk dividing the four petty kingdoms. The current royal family, the Cathal, came to power when the lineage of the previous family died out. The succeeding High King quickly solidified his borders and won the support of both the petty kings and major noble houses. The Cathal Dynasty *High King Murchad "the Drunkard" **Ascending in the midst of a period of relative stability, High King Murchad was comfortable in his position and saw little reason to waste time ruling the Midlands when he could be enjoying the benefits of his position. Delegating the responsibilities of his office to his advisers, Murchad spent most of his reign traveling the kingdoms in pursuit of one source of entertainment after another. While his hedonistic lifestyle won him many friends, he was looked down on with equal measure by a growing number of nobility worried that the Midland Kingdoms' position was growing unstable. He was eventually convinced to settle down and rule his kingdom, but he quickly returned to his carousing and died following yet another drunken party. His disgraceful behavior left a deep impression on his four children. *High King Galen "the Frail" **The eldest son of Murchad. A sickly child in his youth, Galen was nonetheless loved by his three younger siblings. He disliked his father's irresponsible reign and planned with his brother and sisters to rule the Midland Kingdoms far more responsibly. With Murchad's death, Galen ascended to the position of High King and dedicated himself to a life of contemplative study. He delegated much of his responsibilities to his siblings and advisers, advocating a passive foreign policy while seeking to build infrastructure within his kingdoms. He died after less than five years on the throne, allegedly poisoned by elvish assassins from the Free City of D'huran. *High King Aib "the Mighty" **Murchad's second eldest child. From his youngest days Aib was boisterous and outgoing, excelling in all manner of athletics and martial training. The gregarious young man was well-liked by his peers and was anointed as a knight when he was only sixteen years old. From then on he took charge of training both of his younger sisters in combatives while he himself nurtured an ambition to make his mark in history. When his brother Galen ascended the throne Aib began training with the Midland Kingdom's top military commanders and before long became his brother's chief marshal. With Galen's death Aib became High King. His first act was to wreak bloody revenge on the Free City of D'huran, whose elvish inhabitants were implicated in Galen's assassination. This was but the first of several military campaigns that ran completely counter to Galen's former policies. High King Aib personally led the Midland armies against several neighboring kingdoms, reinforcing the Midlands' place as the chief military power in the human world. Unfortunately, Aib's wars and aggressive policies stirred resentment among some of the nobility and fifteen years into his reign the petty kingdom of Gaelvern—including his younger sister Aerlie— revolted against his rule. Aib marshaled the rest of the Midlands and put down the revolt after a short but bloody war. Aib's advisers soothed his wrath and he spared most of Gaelvern's major nobility but executed several key leaders from the rebellion—among them, Aerlie's husband Evander. This prompted Aerlie to attempt to continue the rebellion and Aib reluctantly dispatched troops to kill his sister and destroy her keep. Remorseful over Aerlie's death, Aib adopted her orphaned daughter Caelin as one of his own. Since the Gaelvern Rebellion Aib has ruled more cautiously, focusing on keeping the peace within the kingdoms but still harboring his dreams of greatness. *Serona "the Stern" ** Murchad's third child. A quiet and reserved woman, she was content to follow both of her brothers in their plans to reform the Midland Kingdoms. She loved her brother Galen deeply and took his death hard. She won distinction as a skillful battlefield commander in the wars that followed, though in private she advised her brother Aib against many of his more aggressive policies. Though he rarely heeded her she remained his most loyal adviser. During the Gaelvern rebellion she led the Midland armies in several key battles against the rebels, who numbered her own sister Aerlie among their ranks. Her husband was killed during this conflict, but even so she advised Aib to show mercy to the defeated rebels. With her sister Aerlie's death in the final bloody throes of rebellion, Serona grew increasingly harsh and severe, maintaining most of her public duties but withdrawing from all but the most critical aspects of social life. ***Owen: Serona's eldest child. An adventurous young man with a wild imagination, he dreams of one day becoming a hero like the ones from the stories and legends he loved as a boy. His flamboyant, carefree attitude is a source of constant irritation to his austere mother. One of Caelin's best friends. ***Thema: Born a hunchback, Serona's second child has always considered her condition to be a grave embarrassment to her family's pride. Ridiculed during childhood for her appearance, Thema is fiercely proud and self-conscious. She shut herself away from much of public life while striving to better herself. She is annoyed by her brother Owen's immaturity. Since the death of her father she has grown closer to her mother and has been entrusted with many administrative responsibilities even at her young age. *Aerlie "the Bold" **As Murchad's youngest child, Aerlie never expected that any of the family's royal responsibilities would ever fall on her. The young girl loved stories of knightly heroism and dreamed of one day becoming an errant champion. She trained under her brother Aib and eventually became his squire before being knighted by High King Galen. She was a skilled warrior and had already earned some renown for herself when Galen was assassinated. The grieving Aerlie answered Aib's call to arms against the Free City of D'huran and personally led the Midland vanguard against the elvish forces. Aib's massacre of the city's inhabitants shocked Aerlie, who had never believed her brother capable of such brutality. After realizing that Aib felt no remorse for his actions, Aerlie severed ties with her family and withdrew to the Gaelvern countryside. There she married Evander, a low-ranking knight she had befriended years earlier. The union scandalized the Lochlan court, but Aerlie ignored all entreaties from her siblings to return to the fold. Instead she contended herself with managing Evander's fief and raising her two children. When Gaelvern rose up in rebellion against High King Aib's policies, Aerlie saw her chance to strike back against her brother and fought with the rebel forces. But even with her prowess as a warrior the rebellious nobles were still beaten and forced to submit to the High King’s justice. After Evander was executed for his role in the rebellion, the High King ordered Aerlie to return to the capital. Unwilling to obey her the man who had killed her husband, Aerlie instead defied her brother and marshalled a handful of dissident knights for a last stand inside her keep. She perished after a bloody siege, with only her son Caellach escaping the conflagration. The Kingdoms Lochlan Gaelvern Northwest, rebellion Muer Northeast Realva Southwest, Serona's domain. Former king has been replaced by a steward/consort of the queen, who handles increasingly more of the workload of ruling as Serona seems to be fading from public life, a Constable known as the Incorruptible. Bahnia Southeast